NOAA Program Sends Lake Butler Teacher to Alaska

GAINESVILLE - While summer vacation is often a time reserved for rest and relaxation, one middle school teacher decided to trade in his texbooks and grading pen for a lifejacket and ice pick.

Rob Ulmer teaches eighth grade science classes at Lake Butler Middle School. He was one of only two-dozen other teachers from all across the country who were selected to participate in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "Teacher at Sea" program, which allows educators to experience what it's like for researchers on board an official NOAA research vessel.

While teachers are sent all over the nation, Ulmer was assigned to stay three weeks aboard a mapping ship in Alaska. It's an experience he plans to use in the classroom as a tool to help enrich his students' learning experience.

This isn't the first time Ulmer has participated in a program like this. Last summer, he was in another NOAA program that allowed him to study sharks in south Florida.

When asked what he has planned for next year, Ulmer joked that he is willing to check out any program that sends teachers into space.